Letterboxd is a social site for sharing your life in film.

The Battle of Neretva

Synopsis

In January 1943 the German army, afraid of an Allied invasion of the Balkans, launched a great offensive against Yugoslav Partisans in Western Bosnia. The only way out for the Partisan forces and thousands of refugees was the bridge on the river Neretva.

The late Marshal Josip Broz Tito is a huge cinephile who watches hundreds of movies a year, invites the likes of Hitchcock and Sophia Loren to his compound to mingle, being best buds with Orson Welles, and even built his, I mean his state's premier production company Avala Film, which churned a lot of high quality films and numerous international co-productions, putting Yugoslavia in the map of cinema. He was basically living the dream of every 80s film aficionado. It helps when you're a powerful dictator of the most prosperous socialist country of that era, but hey, if you had that power you'd do that too

This Yugoslav film was probably the most shown Yugoslav film of all times, but for the most Westerners is still unknown! Produced by Anthony B. Unger, Henry T. Weinstein and Steve Previn, written by Stevan Bulajić and Veljko Bulajić, who was the director, it was starring Sergei Bondarchuk, Yul Brynner, Anthony Dawson, Franco Nero, Milena Dravić and Orson Welles. A real Second World War epic with outstanding cinematography of Tomislav Pinter. It is based on the true events of World War II. The Battle of the Neretva was due to a strategic plan for a combined Axis powers attack in 1943 against the Yugoslav Partisans. The plan was also known as the Fourth Enemy Offensive and occurred in the area…